Part 2 of 3 – Read Part 1 here and Part 3 here. Industrial logging rose in the 1970s as Malaysia depleted its peninsular forests, and former Indonesian strongman Suharto distributed large tracts of forest to cement political relationships with army generals. It is the 3rd largest island on the planet Earth. Borneo is divided among three countries—Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia—and at approximately 130 million years old, the Borneo rainforests are some of the oldest in the world. What is the highest deforestation rate during the period 1973-2010 [2], What is the highest proportion of intact forest in Borneo (or primary forest) in 2010 [2]. Moreover, we work to develop sustainable livelihoods for the local communities who are often attracted to the fast money related to the illegal industries. Borneo: the third largest island in the world, one-third of which is home to 220,000 km 2 of diverse and beautiful rainforest. MacKinnon et al. With swampy coastal areas fringed with mangrove forests and a mountainous interior, much of the terrain was virtually impassable and unexplored. However, because virtually all suitable land is used in Peninsular Malaysia, expansion is expected mostly to occur in Malaysian Borneo and, to a greater extent, Kalimantan. August 13, 2019. Part 2 of 3 – Read Part 1 here and Part 3 here. The palm oil industry was responsible for at least 39% of forest loss on the biodiversity-rich island of Borneo between 2000 and 2018, data from a research firm based in Indonesia shows. REUTERS/Supri SUPRI/CP Cora, an eight-month old orangutan who was purchased in Jakarta for 5 million rupiah ($580) and handed over to a government run animal shelter, is held by a … Land Areas: 743,330 square kilometers (287,000 square miles, 74.33 million hectares, or 183.68 million acres) Fires in 1997-1998 burned 92% of the park's area. In 2001, the World Wildlife Foundation forecast that "If the current trend of habitat destruction continues, there will be no remaining lowland forests in Borneo by 2010." Fires have continued to burn on an increasingly frequent basis since then, usually set to clear land for oil palm plantations. - A new animated short film from Mongabay, illustrated by artist Roger Peet, depicts the Sumatran rhino’s slide toward extinction.- No more than 80 Sumatran rhinos are believed to survive today, scattered across isolated and fragmented habitats in Indonesia.- Driven to the brink of extinction by habitat loss and hunting, Sumatran rhinos today face an even more fundamental threat: experts fear that too few calves are being born to offset even natural deaths in the remaining populations. The name Borneo itself is a Western reference first used by the Dutch during their colonial rule of the island. There is more money in the Borneo rainforest’s biodiversity than in the deforestation of it. Every second, a patch of rainforest the size of a soccer field disappears to make place for monoculture plantations. This online atlas is designed to help organizations like the ISPO and RSPO improve transparency and accountability of oil palm and pulpwood plantations, as well as help nations and companies keep better track of their zero net deforestation … Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant today, then visit the Rainforest Discovery Centre, a local bastion of environmental education. Video: The Sumatran rhino is sliding into extinction. Borneo now suffers from one of the highest deforestation rates in the world as forests are unsustainably logged for timber or cleared to make way for farms and plantations. Sabah has the highest proportion of forest under some form of protection and the government is starting to work to encourage a knowledge-based services economy over an extractive one. In Borneo, only half of the forest cover … Palm oil plantations are one of the biggest threats to these rainforests. That equates to more than 18,000 square miles of rainforest. ‘We are losing’: Q&A with The Orangutan Project’s Leif Cocks on saving the great ape (19 Aug 2020 06:01:19 +0000) These are estimated to cover around 1 million hectares in Borneo, a small fraction of their original extent due to conversion for agriculture. “Forest destruction was already bad enough for the region to be declared a global deforestation front, then the 2019-20 bushfires burned about 12.6 million hectares in … : Indonesia - Where have all the forests gone? Written 2000, published June 2002 Protected Animals Smuggling Reaches $547.5m Annually; Jakarta Post: 28/3/2003, Langner A. and Siegert F.: Assessment of Rainforest Ecosystems in Borneo using MODIS satellite imagery. Dense tropical forests in Borneo have historically not been prone to fires. Between 2000 and 2017, 6.04 million hectares of old-growth forest were lost in Borneo, a decline of … ... with a loss of 324,000 hectares of primary forest. "El Niño has become the great destroyer instead of the great provider," said Curran. Timelapse of Borneo deforestation 2000-2017. It was the year when global leaders were scheduled to come together to assess the past decade’s progress and set the climate and biodiversity agendas for the next decade. However, forest degradation and deforestation affects all areas around Mawas. How bad is deforestation? Deforestation. By Daniel T Cross on November 4, 2020. Trees in these forests are typically shorter than those of lowland forest, resulting in a less-developed forest canopy. Borneo's rainforests have been ravaged by fires, logging and palm oil plantations in recent decades. Cloud forests are a type of montane forests. Borneo: the third largest island in the world, one-third of which is home to 220,000 km 2 of diverse and beautiful rainforest. For the villagers of Kampung Buayan, it used to be easy to forget how close the city of Kota Kinabalu is. Borneo's rainforests have been ravaged by fires, logging and palm oil plantations in recent decades. In 2004, 30% of these of these were located in Sabah, which has ideal growing conditions for the plant, and 13% were in Sarawak. Peat swamp forests are the dominant form of remaining lowland forest in Borneo today. Later forests in the southern part of Borneo, an area belonging to Indonesia and known as Kalimantan, became the primary source for tropical timber. Forests not only provide shade, but create their own rainfall, essentially recycling the freshwater in the soil and vegetation. These swamp forests appear in places where dead vegetation becomes waterlogged and, too wet to decompose, accumulates as peat. Human Population: 17.7 million, of which 17% or 2.2 million is indigenous Dayak As in many tropical areas around the world, Borneo’s rainforests are being cut and degraded for timber, palm oil, pulp, rubber and minerals. During the same period, a total of 271,820 km of logging roads were created in Borneo: this is 21 times the earth circumference (or ¾ distance Earth-Moon). Fires can cause extensive damages during El Nino-related draught events. - Every Tuesday, Mongabay brings you a new episode of Candid Animal Cam, our show featuring animals caught on camera traps around the world and hosted by Romi Castagnino, our writer and conservation scientist. The analysis identifies 24 “deforestation fronts” worldwide where a total of 43 million hectares of forest was destroyed in the period from 2004 until 2017. Our research focuses on identifying the best tree species for replanting and optimal … It is also an important refuge for the Asian Elephant, the Sumatran Rhinoceros, the and the Bornean Clouded Leopard. The increase in these activities is being matched by a growth in illegal wildlife trade, as cleared forests provide easy access to more remote areas. Environmental Investigation Agency 2004, Profiting from Plunder: How Malaysia Smuggles Endangered Wood, Fuller D.O, Jessup T.C and Salim, A.: Loss of Forest Cover in Kalimantan, Indonesia, since the 1997-1998 El Niño. Indonesia's Kutai National Park was established in 1936 as a 306,000 hectare preserve, but suffered from reductions in extent, large-scale illegal logging, and encroachment. In prehistoric times it was connected to the Asian mainland due to geological and climate changes. http://forestwatchers.net/pybossa/app/deforestedareas/, Get involved and support reforestation initiatives, Buy only FSC certified tropical timber: https://us.fsc.org/. Several distinct ecosystems are found across Borneo. As planetary health professionals, we seek solutions that … For example, protected areas in Sabah, a state in Malaysian Borneo, have generally fared better than reserves in Indonesia, where illegal logging, encroachment, and poaching can be frequent. Related articles Logging expanded significantly in the 1980s, Why oil palm is replacing tropical rainforests, California-sized area of forest lost in just 14 years, How the pandemic impacted rainforests in 2020: a year in review, Being realistic about coal mine rehabilitation in Indonesia: An ecological perspective, Dolphins face growing pressure as development eats into Borneo’s interior, ‘Certified’ palm oil linked to worse social, ecological outcomes for Indonesian villagers, Activists in Malaysia call on road planners to learn the lessons of history, Conservationists replant legal palm oil plantation with forest in Borneo, Video: The Sumatran rhino is sliding into extinction. World, Bank Discussion Paper. [3]. In Kalimantan, oil palm has expanded even faster: from 13,140 hectares in 1984 to nearly one million hectares at the end of 2003. This online atlas is designed to help organizations like the ISPO and RSPO improve transparency and accountability of oil palm and pulpwood plantations, as well as help nations and companies keep better track of their zero net deforestation commitments. Initially most of the timber was taken from the Malaysian part of the island in the northern states of Sabah and Sarawak. Borneo Wildlife. At the same time, the Indonesian government's transmigration program was in full swing, sending more than 18,000 people per year during the decade to settle in Kalimantan. 32 No 7, Nov. 2003, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 2003, The World Bank: Indonesia: Environment and Natural Resource Management in a Time of Transition, February 2001, UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre: https://www.wcmc.org accessed February 2, 2007, WWF: Borneo's Lost World: Newly Discovered Species on Borneo; written by Pio D. and D'Cruz R. (ed) for WWF, April 2005. Draining and/or burning these areas releases large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Kalimantan on the Indonesian island of Borneo is home to some of the oldest tropical rainforest in the world. EYES ON THE FOREST BORNEO DEFORESTATION Asia Pulp & Paper and UPDATE APRIL Groups continued in 2018 to source wood ... rainforest to develop wood fiber plantations at least through 2017.1 Government reports record wood ... indicating deforestation during 2001–2012 and 2013–2017, and remaining natural forest cover. Up to 2.5 gigatons of CO2 was released into the atmosphere. A hundred kilograms of oil seeds typically produce 20 kilograms of oil, while a single hectare of oil palm may yield 5,000 kilograms of crude oil, or nearly 6,000 liters of crude oil that can be used in biodiesel production. Lowland Dipterocarp forests are the most biodiverse and most threatened forests in Borneo. Subsistence agriculture mostly involves slash-and-burn practices from local communities. Borneo Rainforest. It appears that logging has reduced the local density and biomass of mature trees below some critical threshold that limits masting. Today, over half of Borneo’s forests have disappeared, and the remainder are under threat. JAKARTA — The Indonesian government has denied that deforestation for oil palm plantations and coal mines contributed to a recent deadly flood in southern Borneo. Research has indicated that industrial plantation development on peatlands is one of the most important drivers of fire in Borneo. Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of the ubiquitous oil, which is found in nearly every household item from bread to chocolate to shampoo. Curran found that seed production fell from 175 pounds per acre in 1991 to 16.5 pounds per acre in 1998, even though it was a one of the strongest El Niño years on record. A single hectare of oil palm may yield 5,000 kilograms of crude oil, or nearly 6,000 liters of crude, making the crop remarkably profitable when grown in large plantations. There are seven distinct ecoregions in Borneo. Being realistic about coal mine rehabilitation in Indonesia: An ecological perspective (23 Dec 2020 07:36:27 +0000) Seeds and wild boar are so prevalent during these intervals that local populations have long viewed el Niño events as times of plenty, collecting Illipe nuts for export and gorging on pork. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international not for-profit, multi-stakeholder organization established in 1993 to promote responsible management of the world’s forests. Conservationists replant legal palm oil plantation with forest in Borneo (09 Nov 2020 12:45:50 +0000) Deforestation in Borneo: the extent of the problem. Surveys have found more than 700 species of trees in a 10 hectare plot — a number equal to the total number of trees in Canada and the United States combined. Subject to mass deforestation, the remaining Borneo rainforest is one of the only remaining natural habitat for the endangered Bornean Orangutan. - For International Orangutan Day, Mongabay spoke with Leif Cocks, founder and president of The Orangutan Project, which seeks to protect the endangered orange-haired primates and their rapidly disappearing habitats in Southeast Asia.- All three species of orangutans — Sumatran (Pongo abelii), Bornean (P. pygmaeus) and Tapanuli (P. tapanuliensis) are one step away from extinction.- Deforestation is the biggest threat the primates face, and at the moment most conservation efforts have only been able to slow forest loss, not turn the tide around, Leif told Mongabay.- Oil palm plantations replacing primary rainforests is a major problem in Malaysia and Indonesia, but Cocks says simply banning these plantations is not the answer; instead, he advocates for replacing exploitative production systems with those that recognize the services that these forests provide to the local communities and building on that. Related articles Patrolling against … Millions of hectares of peat, scrub, degraded forest, and rainforest have gone up in flames over the past 30 years. Indeed, recent studies show that orang-utans [4] as well as many other species [5] can survive in slightly logged forests or in forest exploited under sustainable practices. According to Curran, more timber exported was from Borneo during that time than from Latin America and Africa combined. It is said that they are around 130 million years old, the oldest on the planet. This is four times the size of Switzerland! Today, over half of Borneo’s forests have disappeared, and the remainder are under threat. Montane forests are generally found at an elevation from 900 meters to 3300 meters in Borneo. The causes of deforestation in Borneo are not complex; but the solutions are. Tropical peatlands, which form over hundreds of years, are giant stores of carbon. A few other examples: In a 2005 report, WWF argued there are four big direct threats to Borneo's forests: land conversion, illegal logging, poor forest management, and forest fires. - Once covered in vast tropical forests, East Kalimantan, in the Indonesian half of Borneo Island, is today the most intensively mined province in Indonesia.- Surface mining for coal has left behind vast expanses of barren land across the province.- Under Indonesian law, mining companies are responsible for rehabilitating their mining concessions.- In this analysis, based on field work in mining sites in East Kalimantan, restoration ecologists David Woodbury (School of the Environment, The Forest School, Yale University ) and Arbainsyah (Environmental Leadership & Training Initiative, Tropenbos Indonesia) argue the rehabilitation of coal mines is far more difficult, and likely far less effective, than environmentalists, mining companies and policy makers might hope. Though it was first planted in Indonesia in 1848, it wasn't until the mid-1990s that oil palm cultivation really started to accelerate. As such, vast swathes of land are being converted for oil palm plantations. Fires in peat swamps are difficult to extinguish because they can burn below ground virtually undetected. Deforestation began in earnest during the mid-twentieth century with the establishment of rubber plantations, though these had a limited impact. “Only half of Borneo’s forest cover remains today, down from 75 per cent in the mid-1980s. In 1973, Borneo was covered with 75.7% of forest; in 2010 this percentage was down to 52.8%. This recognition needs to be followed by the political will to make tough decisions, including challenging business-as-usual interests that work to destroy forests, accounting for the true costs of environmental degradation, and creating financial incentives for local people to shift behavior. The rainforest of Borneo is rich in many valuable natural resources. When it comes to rainforest deforestation, Borneo is right up there in notoriety with the Amazon. These range from commodity sourcing policies to recognizing Indigenous and local communities’ land rights. Deforestation started to accelerate with industrialization and between 1980 - 2000, more round wood was harvested from Borneo than from Africa and Amazon combined [2]. Deforestation: University of Maryland, Google, USGS and NASA analysis of satellite imagery; Global Forest Watch Popi arrived at the Center for Orangutan Protection (COP) when she was a few weeks old. That being said, there are reasons to suspect that 2020’s forest loss will again be substantial. there are many effects on abiotic and biotic factors deforestation has. Up to 420 million acres of forest could be lost between 2010 and 2030 in these "deforestation fronts" if current trends continue. Indigenous people on the island of Borneo are up in arms over continued deforestation, which has left their once lush environment a mere shadow of its former self. Malaysia is … A few links with interesting facts and views about tropical deforestation. It requires low technology and is usually done on a rotation (or shifting) basis. Borneo Rainforest Adventure Borneo from £3,099 per person. When fires are set for land-clearing purposes, they can quickly spread out-of-control into adjacent areas, including healthy forests. http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0715-chart-forest-loss-seasia.html, http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/deforestation/, http://news.mongabay.com/2005/0413-tina_butler.html, http://www.livescience.com/27692-deforestation.html, © 2020 Borneo Futures Sdn Bhd  | Designed by Amir Yussof, © 2020 Borneo Futures Sdn Bhd  | Designed by. 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